I don't think its Ducati paying the 17 million is the thing. Most of his salary now is paid by Marlboro. He can probably get similar dollars overall wherever he goes, even when he isn't winning, that guy is a marketing machine.

Rossi does have a pretty valid point when you think about it. I mean, he turned the Yamaha completely around in a season.

Hmmmm That's controversial to say the least... The bike was reported to be the best handling bike out there after the previous years' rider spent loads of times (not to mention the crash gallore!!) developing the bike and fighting Yamaha since not one rider thought the fuel injection worked for the bike cause power delivery to be pretty wild. But Yamaha was introducing fuel injection to its road bikes so marketing demanded they soldier on...

There are even reports of the riders testing the bike with a carbureted engine and being almost a sec a lap faster. By the end of the season the biggest issues had been ironed out and Rossi is said to have stepped in at exactly the right time.

All in all, good on him nonetheless for having the right ppl around him!

He thought he could win there... Unfortunately it seems Ducati's engineers will do what they want and not what Rossi/Burgees want. I suppose he had enough of that.

He's reported to have already signed with Yamaha and there might even be a clause that says he doesn't have to play team orders and can go for a win. Not unlikely... his sponsors (mainly Phillip Morris) are the reason he'll be back at Yamaha. They haven't had any decent sponsors since he left and they all know that.

Yeah, I'm working on that now, using this article http://www.gostar-racing.com/information/motorcycle_suspension_set-up.htm as guidance. I don't have a center/engine stand, but as far as setting my preload, how much should my bike sag when I sit down on it? I only weight between 120-130, and I know right now my bike hardly sags at all when I'm in position. Eventually I'll set my rider sag and static sag properly, taking measurements of an unweighted bike, bike standing alone, and with me in position on the bike, but right now I just want to make a quick adjustment with my preloads. They're set to factory setting right now, and I'm just guessing that factory settings were made for the average man of 180 pounds?

After setting my preload, is having an inch worth of sag (from the bike standing alone to me sitting in riding position) too much? As I said, my bike barely sags at all when I sit on it, and I'm only 5'6'' (5'7'' with boots), so I'm barely on the balls of my feet when I sit and was hoping softening up the preload for my weight would help a bit.

Factory bikes are usually undersprung and set up for a typical japanese guy who is around 145 pounds, so you aren't that far off.

As far as static sag, it varies and I would check an R6 forum and ask. We usually aim for 30-35 up front and around 25mm on the rear with GP supension 25mm cartridge kits and a Penske triple clicker rear shock, but a lot of suspension guys will have various ideal measurements depending on their own personal results/equipment.

I FINALLY got back on the track, not even on my own bike, a borrowed one. Lost a bet involving some laptimes and ended up doing some sessions with some Hello Kitty booty shorts on. Then couldn't race due to a technical matter, there was a rule change this year I didn't keep track of that requires case covers on all inlines now. Only had one on the stator side.

Well, at least it's a ZX6R! not the year model I'd pick though.. hahahaha

Here you have to have covers as well... also needs to be properly lockwired (oil filter, sump plug, calipers, etc), only water on the radiator (no coolant) belly pan with plugs and some breathing hose business I still haven't done but no one has checked anyway! hahaha

I need to hit the gym as well... I've been suffering on the last few laps of each session. We usually only get 6-7 laps per session and the track has 18 corners, multiply that by 6 sessions and you have me aching for nearly a week. Pretty pathetic really... but not as bad as I was after my first week back at the snow this year. I thought I was going to have to see a Dr... no joke! hahaha

Snowboarding has me worried too. My strength is coming back big time with working out, but I have no endurance. Playing basketball isn't the same as I can jog between plays, but hustling the bike around the track, particularly considering portland is 9 rights and only 2 lefts, and I was absolutely dead after 8-10 laps each session and had to pull off with 10 minutes to go each time. It was also making it really hard to keep my weight off the bars, didn't realize how much I grip the tank on the brakes.

Speaking of working out, what exercises do you guys do to specifically target muscles you'll used when riding on the track? Do you focus on particular muscle groups, more/less cardio, or just do general workouts to get your fitness up?

After a day or two at the track, my forearms are usually noticeably sore, as are my inner thigh flexor muscles (no idea what they're called, but I think what you use to grip the tank). And sometimes I'll get leg cramps by the end of the day, usually from trying to keep my legs folded up all day.

Cycling is the hot workout for race guys. Look how many of them are on cycling teams now in the off season. Pretty much works every muscle that you need for hustling a bike around the track. I has no bike and no patience so I'm going the spin class option.

Also, if your forearms are sore, you might wanna go over your body position... in theory there should be no heavy loads there at any given time. You're either tensing up BAD or not gripping the tank with your legs (putting weight on your wrists). My money would be on death grip though...

I play basketball every now and then as well but to be honest I don't think it helps much with riding other than it is a good cardio if you're playing hard fought games.

Like Shaka said, riding a bicycle helps a lot... not only for overall fitness and cardio but also with developing core muscles used to balance the bike. I do a bit of BMX every now and then and it hurts almost the same way as track riding does.

I mountain bike a good amount, but cycling doesn't really get to the sideways muscles that I use to grip the tank or when hanging on/off. Spin classes even less since the bike is so stable.

Forearms aren't really a problem riding, but they're noticeably sore after. I don't think it's arm pump and I feel pretty "loose" on the bike. I know I need to work on holding myself up more with my core and lower body, but I'm a big guy so it's kind of a losing battle.

I won't even mention my neck and back since they don't seem to affect my riding, but are also pretty sore/tight afterwards.

My last trackdays (two in a row on a weekend), there was a low turnout so the organizer switched from three groups (20min sessions) to two groups (30min sessions). I don't have to tell you that I only rode a full session once or twice and I skipped the last session both days. It did not help that it was the first time I'd been out on 100+ degree days in a year or more (last season was great; nice and mild).

Dking, work some more weights into it then and possibly some more cardio. We frequently get 30 minute sessions on trackdays around here, or at least when I was running them all the time. I almost always pulled off at around minute 25 though as well.

Here they vary between 15-20min... I was usually ok with that but then they got 6 more turns into the circuit and they're slow corners, changing direction all the time... the new section kills me now. I've been skipping the last lap just about every session.

Dking, if you're getting pain on your neck and etc I'm even more inclined to think it has something to do with you tensing up on the bike. There's no reason why those muscles should hurt... I mean, even here where the straight is pretty dam long and the winds can get hectic from time to time, the winds still don't bash you enough to cause neck pain.

Every time I got a neck pain after hitting the track it was because... erm... I'd hit the track! hahaha

I had a sore neck when I had to ride my bike home after purchasing it (some 90 miles, 20 of it through a twisty canyon). Though I think that's just 'cause I've never been ducked-over with my head up for such a long time. I may have been a little tense, but I made a conscience effort not to be.

Sonoma (ex-Sear Point... ex-Infineon) was good today... just a bit warm (~90F). We ran the modified (for Indycar) T9 chicane, which is more open on the exit. Layout was okay, but I don't like pavement transitions... and the inner 2' is concrete .

The instructors ran the proposed further T11, but I think the current short one is okay for MCs; I think the cars want a longer run down and back to help passing.

And you'll be glad to know I didn't have much neck pain, even though it's much tighter and more technical than T-hill, where I usually go. My lower back did tighten up at end of the day after my last session and my knees were sore, but that's just old age setting in. All in all a good time.

But something odd happened... So there were a few crashes (more early than later), as usual, but I don't think the ambulance had to roll the whole day. Then as we were packing up to leave, with the pits more than half empty, we hear a faint cry for help. We eventually look up and figure out it's coming from an upper access road which runs well above the pit area; like 100' away and about that high above us. Initially we weren't sure if the guy was serious or goofing... turns out he was serious. He had ridden a GoPed (powered scooter) up there, I assume to get to the grandstands or some other viewing location. He was apparently on his way back, downhill on the gravel road... and ate it... bashing his head into a concrete retaining wall. So they roll the ambo up there... lots of attention. I didn't go up to see firsthand since I wanted to finish packing and get out of there. A bit later, I hear a helo coming in for a landing... yes, the LifeFlight helicopter. I guess he was bad enough that he needed to get airlifted to the hospital. Now I don't want to make light of someone getting hurt, but we go the whole day without needing the ambulance on track and some yahoo on a scooter with no helmet or other gear needs to get airlifted? That's funny to me.

Oh well, if you read all of that, I hope you get something out of it. Be safe out there.

Damn, that absolutely sucks when they have to roll the ambulance. We had a hot one yesterday (mid 90's) and they only had to go out once. Otherwise everyone walked away from the mishaps (think we had 4 total).

Nice getting back into the swing of things, but I feel absolutely rusty as hell still.

Damn, the Indy GP weekend has turned into total carnage. I had always heard the track surface sucked, but didn't realize it was this bad.

I agree... mostly in qualifying though. Stoners high side was brutal. And despite the fact that it didn't look as bad, Nicky ending up unconscious was hard to watch. During the races, Moto 2&3 were a bit crazy.

But I didn't realize the surface lacked grip that badly either. I just remember the tires troubles they (and F1) had a few years back... I thought that was caused by the surface being too grippy. Weird indeed.

Damn... I won't be able to be there 9/3-4. You'll have fun, but be prepared for it to be hot. It's been averaging above 90 up there and was over 100 the last time I was up there. Long range forecast on those dates is low 90s, so you might be in luck. At least you won't have to worry about rain.

The Indy track is a bit of a hodgepodge and I'm not surprised there are different surface types. You'd think someone would've thought of that when they laid out the infield.

Adjusted my idle today! It was sitting around 900, and sometimes when I pull my clutch in and downshift multiple gear as I come to a stop, my engine would just turn itself off. I looked it up online and other people with the similar problem said that it's because their idle dipped below zero, so they just turned their idle up and it fixed the problem. Others suggested that perhaps the battery is going bad. Anyway, apparently the idle should be between 1250-1450, and I've got it in that range now, so hopefully that'll fix my problem. I don't really want to buy a new battery, I don't really see how that could be much of a problem considering my bike starts up every time, instantly.

Any of the 250s and +1 on the SV650. Whatever you get, look for a used one and don't shy away from one that's not the prettiest... first bikes rarely stay that way. Buy something, use it for 6-18 months, then pass it on to the next noob and upgrade.

Is there power outside of the garages? I'm debating on renting one for the weekend or just bringing a generator. Looks like they are 250 for the weekend.

At Thunderhill? There are power drops scattered throughout the paddock area, although not under the roof structures. There's power near one end of the older (further in) roof structure, but those spots are usually gone first because of that. $250 seems like alot if you already have a generator to use. Plus the only garages I can think of are further from the track entry/exit, if you care about that.

When we take the toy hauler trailer, we park it next to a power drop near the older roof structure under a tree. Even without the trailer, I try to get that spot if I can't get under the roof structure. I have an EZ-UP, so between that and the tree I have shade most of the day.

Also if you have a long enough extension cord (100'), you can get power to just about anywhere in the paddock. Everyone has different preferences (thankfully), but I try to be near the track entry. There's plenty of space and the only place it gets tight is under the roof structures.

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